An overview of job embeddedness

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Organizational Psychology
• Nursing Workforce Studies

Background:

• Nursing turnover is a significant issue in healthcare, impacting patient care and organizational costs.
• Existing strategies often focus on turnover rather than proactive nurse retention.
• Job embeddedness (JE), a concept from business, offers a new framework for understanding retention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the concept of job embeddedness (JE) within the context of nursing.
• To examine the relationship between JE, nurse retention, and nursing turnover.
• To discuss the potential application of JE principles for developing nurse retention strategies.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of job embeddedness (JE) construct and its dimensions.
• Analysis of JE's role as a mediator between organizational/community factors and retention.
• Synthesis of research linking JE to retention and anti-withdrawal behaviors.

Main Results:

• JE is a significant predictor of employee retention, acting as a buffer against turnover.
• Both on-the-job (organizational) and off-the-job (community) factors influence JE.
• JE offers a more nuanced understanding of why nurses stay with an organization.

Conclusions:

• Healthcare organizations can leverage JE principles to improve nurse retention strategies.
• Assessing organizational and community factors is crucial for implementing effective JE-based interventions.
• Adopting JE tenets may be vital for addressing the current and future nursing shortage.